CSU freshmen students leave and arrive at a 100-level psychology class last week. CSU's feshman enrollment is up this year for the fifth straight year.

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Colorado State University has bested four previous record-setting years to post the highest fall enrollment since its founding more than 140 years ago.

About 26,769 students enrolled at CSU this semester, 4,544 of whom represent the university's largest-ever freshman class. And while the university intends to add graduate-level students over time, campus leaders believe increasing numbers of in- and out-of-state undergraduate students will be key to growing total enrollment by about 30 percent in coming years.

Deep cuts to federal and state higher education dollars have forced ...